Cologne Fine Art & Antiques: Showcase Juxtaposes Works of Art from Different Cultures

An art dealer of the gallery Schmitz-Avila in Bad Breisig presents a decorative wooden deer for a hunting society during a preview of the art fair Cologne Fine Art and Antiques, in Cologne, Germany, 16 November 2010. The art fair runs from 17 to 21 November. EPA/OLIVER BERG.

COLOGNE.-Cologne Fine Art & Antiques runs from 17-21 November 2010. A rich mix of exhibits testifies to the success of the Fair's new planning. It provides an optimum showcase to juxtapose works of art from different cultures, epochs and collecting fields ranging from antiquity to the 21st century. The Fair's aim is to promote visual interplay and dialogue, and this year sees an even sharper focus on an exciting contrast between modernism and the art of the antique world, Old Masters, antiques and 19th-century art. Among the ninety leading international galleries and dealers participating are newcomers Georg Hornemann (Düsseldorf); Gabrielle Ammann (Cologne); Aurel Scheibler (Berlin); Karena Schuessler; William Weston (London); Carlo Cristi (Daverio, Italy); Hans Peter Jochum (Berlin); and Clara Scremini (Paris). The event offers traditional art and antiques, high-end collectables and design objects. Collectors and art aficionados will find a broad range of high-quality pieces both in the medium price bracket and at the top end of the market.

The Fair's floor plan has been designed with openness and flexibility to stimulate interplay between the specialist fields. Exhibitors have responded very positively to this innovative move. The particularly large number of galleries who have signed up for shared stands in 2010 is set to enhance cross-cultural interaction, highlighting artistic parallels and offering visitors fascinating new insights. Examples of combined showings are Schwarzer (Düsseldorf), Simonis (Düsseldorf), Hirschberg (Cologne) and Woerner (Hong Kong). Dierking (Cologne), frankandoliver (Frankfurt / Zurich) and Peters (Hamburg) are staging a joint show titled 'Living Crossover'. This combines design, non-European art and vintage photography. A further contribution to the exchange of visual relationships is an exhibition titled 'Creatures' - an exciting juxtaposition of Jugendstil/Art Nouveau objects from the Olbricht Collection with modern jewellery and unconventional objects by Georg Hornemann (Düsseldorf).

Ars Medievalis (Cologne) will be showing an extremely rare Italian Renaissance lavabo. The gallery also has a very fine bust of St. Ursula - a rarity on the art market. An early 16th-century limestone figure of St. Catherine of Alexandria is of museum quality. Georg Britsch jun. (Bad Schussenried) is an expert in fine 18th and 19th-century furniture. One of the gallery's star pieces is a monumental mahogany extending table decorated with filigree inlaid lines in maple. It measures eight metres at full length. Viebahn Kunsthandel (Worpswede) have two outstanding examples of late 18th-century craftsmanship - a magnificent table clock and a writing desk from the workshop of David Roentgen. They illustrate the importance of Roentgen's influence on the development of the neo-classical style in Europe. Other leading furniture specialists are Ralph Gierhards (Düsseldorf) and Thomas Schmitz-Avila (Bad Breisig).

The scope and quality of exhibits in the non-European section are remarkable. Simonis (Düsseldorf) has an impressive Vuvi mask from central Gabon. Michael Woerner Oriental Art (Hong Kong) focuses on high-calibre sculpture from Southern and South-East Asia. His exhibits include a standing figure of Buddha, Gandhara, 2nd-3rd century AD, and a monumental limestone head of Buddha from Thailand. Carlo Cristi (Daverio, Italy) specializes in antique Indian and Asian applied art. André Kirbach (Düsseldorf) has an exquisite selection of ceramics from Japan. His stand impressively juxtaposes early Japanese ceramics with work by contemporary ceramic artists.

The silver and porcelain sections are well represented with the inclusion of important specialists like Eva Toepfer (Bech-Kleinmacher, Luxembourg) and Elfriede Langeloh (Weinheim). Langeloh has a unique 18-piece Meissen service. This outstandingly rare set is decorated with chinoiseries painted by the Auffenwerth sisters from Augsburg. Its original travelling coffer is still preserved. Specialists in antique rugs, carpets and tapestries include Hans Eitzenberger (Hamburg), Teppichkunst Hirschberg (Cologne), Setareh und Söhne (Düsseldorf) and Mohammed Tehrani (Hamburg). Experts Claude-Noëlle (Brussels) and first-time exhibitor Friedrich (Frankfurt) will be offering fine items of jewellery from all over the world. Hans-Peter Jochum (Berlin), Dr. Westermeier (Munich), Lichterloh and Rauminhalt (both Vienna) are leading specialists in classic modern furniture.

A first at Cologne Fine Art & Antiques will be the inclusion of contemporary design. This enhances the vintage design section launched last year. Two leading dealers in the sector - both with high-quality exhibits - are Karena Schuessler (Berlin) and Gabrielle Ammann (Cologne). Clara Scremini (Paris) will be showing outstanding glass and ceramic objects. Anat Isman-Fänder (Hamburg) has a very fine range of silver objects by the Spanish designers Paloma and Juan Gamido. The gallery also has glass designed by Baldwin & Guggisberg. Konrad Bayer (Munich) and Zibelius Fine Art (Hanover) are showing important 19th-century paintings. Gierhards Fine Art (Düsseldorf) will be staging a cabinet exhibition of work by the French painter Eugène Chigot.

Top-flight dealers in the field of classic modern art - one of the Fair's traditional highlights - include Utermann (Dortmund) and Thole Rotermund (Hamburg). Works on paper are strongly represented. Utermann has important pieces by Ernst Wilhelm Nay, Emil Nolde and Christian Rohlfs. Rotermund's star piece is Ernst Ludwig Kirchner's 1910 pastel 'Steamboat on a River' and he has an impressive, early ink drawing by Lyonel Feininger titled 'Fast Train'. Helmut Ph. Riedl (Munich) is featuring eleven works on paper by Erich Heckel acquired directly from the artist's estate. Galerie Ludorff (Düsseldorf) has a small but eye-catching show of museum-quality art. Highlights include a group of watercolours by Emil Nolde and a 1914 Gabriele Münter oil, 'Landhaus Mariahalde, Rorschach'. Salis & Vertes (Salzburg / Zurich) have an exceptional range of exhibits, among them an oil by Max Ernst titled 'Der Spassmacher' executed in 1963, and a 1930 Paul Klee titled 'Bildnis in der Laube'.

Galerie Schlichtenmaier (Grafenau / Stuttgart) are specialists in post-war art and will be focussing on Art Informel - in particular, on the work of one of its leading exponents, Karl Otto Götz. The gallery is showing 'Karant', a dynamic mixed-media work on canvas executed in 1957. It is also offering a key work by Oskar Schlemmer executed in 1936 and titled 'Kopf mit beleuchteter Stirn'. Galerie Vömel (Düsseldorf) have put together a special show of 50 works by Ewald Mataré in part from the gallery's collection and in part loaned from a private collection. Fair newcomer Renate Krümmer (Hamburg) has a very special focus with her show titled 'Frauen der Moderne'. Cologne-based Galerie Boisserée are staging an impressive exhibition of prints by Georges Braque and can expect a good deal of interest in their two canvases by the Cologne artist Georg Meistermann. The gallery has added a touch of local colour, offering views of Cologne Cathedral, one of which is an impression of Andy Warhol's 1985 screenprint. Fahnemann (Berlin) will be showing work by Hans Hartung, Raimund Girke and Dieter Roth. Heinz Holtmann (Cologne) will feature an offset lithograph by Sigmar Polke. (Polke died in June this year). Klaus Gerrit Friese (Stuttgart) has fine-tuned his Fair exhibits to the Walter Stöhrer retrospective at the Museum Küppersmühle (Duisburg) where important works of the 1960s and 1970s are on show.